Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...

What advantages do political cartoons have over written editorials? Scholars discuss the topic by exploring editorial cartoons. Working in small groups, pupils analyze an Uncle Sam cartoon and complete a worksheet. As a fun extension,...

Explore the origin of political parties in the United States. Learners work in groups to read and analyze copies of the "Report on Manufactures" written by Alexander Hamilton. Then, they complete a worksheet comparing the Federalists to...

Learners make a list of every day symbols they know of and write down what each symbol stands for. Then they are asked to help their knowledge further by considering all the meanings various symbols might have.

Seventh graders identify a political cartoon and analyze a pre-Revolutionary War political cartoon. In this political cartoon lesson, 7th graders discuss cartoons and the historical beginnings of American politics using a PowerPoint...

Students study political cartoons by Dr. Seuss. They create their own political cartoons on a current event.

Though the movement for Women's Suffrage stretched over several decades and across two centuries, the final few years were the most difficult hurdle in many ways. Use a document-based question writing exercise to make inferences about...

Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...

Students write a letter in the voice of Abraham Lincoln. In this history lesson, students interpret the way the public viewed Lincoln during various times by examining political cartoons and images. Students write a letter in the voice...

Learners explore the power of images through political cartoons, particularly in light of the Danish caricatures of Muhammad that have incited violence around the world. They create their own original artwork to submit to an appropriate...

Students recognize visual sterotyping in political cartoons and to analyze its use. They speculate as to why political cartoons are so effective. The teacher explains that cartoonists often make use of stereotypes as visual symbols or...

The New York Times Learning Network provides the resources that permit pupils to examine and then write and perform a fake news broadcast in the vein of “The Daily Show” or “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update. The generated reports...

Students explain that a political cartoon is very much like an editorial--both present personal opinions. Each student writes an editorial that supports the political cartoon. They must analyze the cartoon in order to write about the...

A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...

Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...

A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...

Analyze political cartoons and historical events. Middle schoolers utilize primary resources to increase their comprehension of the topic of secession. They utilize graphic organizers to take notes, compare, and analyze political...

Hey, what's so funny? Explore the use of satire in a variety of media with a hands-on lesson plan. Fourth in a five-part journalism series from iCivics, the activity introduces satirical language in print and online. Pupils work alone or...

Middle schoolers participate in a mock trial on the Whiskey Rebellion that took place in the state of Pennsylvania in 1794. They analyze the perspectives presented by both sides to determine whether the Whiskey "rebels" were guilty of...

Students examine political cartoons depicting opinions about Margaret Chase Smith's Declaration of conscience. After examining the cartoons, they create their own political cartoons about the speech. As an ongoing activity, students...

How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...

Are you looking for a way to bring writing into your history lesson plan - or history into your writing lesson plan? This cross-curricular activity is helpful and fun, no matter what class you're teaching! Using "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"...

Seventh graders study events leading to, during and resulting from the American Revolution. They review elements of a political cartoon. They create and dramatize a scene from a Revolutionary War novel.

Fifth graders examine the impact of World War II on South Carolina. In this American history lesson, 5th graders analyze primary documents that include political cartoons and advertisements that were published in South Carolina during...